Local municipalities are offering housing incentives to draw employees and help them live closer to their jobs.
"Cities, counties and school districts are starting to offer housing incentives to attract -- rather than force -- their employees to live where they work. These new benefits are particularly prevalent in expensive areas where lower- and middle-income employees are being priced out of the housing market," report Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene.
Fairfax County in Virginia, for example, provides housing in a 270-unit apartment building near county offices to employees. San Antonio is using a different strategy by offering zero-interest loans to workers who want to purchase homes downtown and in the city.
"Although these housing incentives draw more public employees to live where they work, the gains are limited by what the municipalities can afford," note Barrett and Greene. In addition, the demand has far exceeded the supply, they say.
FULL STORY: WANTED: Public Employees Who Live Where They Work
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.